


Picking Flowers

by lovegood27



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Complete, Complicated Relationships, Domestic Violence, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Flowers, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction, Partying, Quidditch, Substance Abuse, Swearing, Teen Romance, Underage Substance Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:30:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12319218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovegood27/pseuds/lovegood27
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has had a crush on Rose Weasley since they started Hogwarts. But what he doesn't realise is that perhaps dating and cheating on countless other girls to make her jealous isn't the best way to pursue her.





	Picking Flowers

The loud cheers of Gryffindors at their success of winning the Quidditch Cup rang through the Common Room, which had been decorated in bright colours of crimson and gold that hurt the eye to look at. Drunken students making fools of themselves were littered everywhere, with Firewhiskey bottles clutched in their hands as they took full advantage of the huge party which had been thrown in celebration of their victory. 

Which I was not supposed to be at, I might add. I wasn't a Gryffindor, so I should technically have been sulking in the dungeons where I belonged and wallowing in self-pity. But I suppose self-pity wasn't really my thing because instead, I had managed to convince my girlfriend, whose brothers (and the rest of her family) all belonged to Gryffindor and was naturally also invited, to take me along to the party. 

I mean, I wasn't going to pass up the chance to see Rose Weasley would be there, presumably drunk. It was too good an opportunity- I had been chasing after the girl since Merlin himself died only to have her reject me over and over again, but if there was a time when I might actually have a chance of hooking up with her, it would be now. When she was sober, she built walls around her feelings that I couldn't quite penetrate, but if she was drunk, I was certain it could be easy for me to bring her barriers crashing down. 

I had been so close to doing so too; her hands had been wrapped around my neck, her face tilting upwards as her soft brown eyes flickered shut, all sign of her resistance before disappeared. I forgot about everyone else at the Gryffindor party. It was the moment I had been longing for for so long- just Rose and I...and the butterflies that had filled my stomach as I had tightened my grip around her waist and closed my eyes. I waited in nervous anticipation for her lips to meet mine, and then-

"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY!" 

...then Lily bloody Potter had to come and ruin it all. 

Although, I suppose it was kind of within her right, seeing as she was my girlfriend. 

I quickly pulled away from Rose, ignoring the disappointment welling up inside me. It was wrong of me to feel like that when I was dating someone else but it was just a blunt fact. Her face had been inches within mine, those soft lips I had thought about way too often about to touch my own. I'd been so _close_. She'd almost kissed me. 

...almost. 

The youngest Potter really did have a way with timing. 

"Yes, Lily?" I tried to look innocent, but it didn't work. Which was odd because when it came to faking, I ought to have been a natural. 

Lily slapped me hard across the face without warning. I stumbled back in shock, clutching my cheek. I really should have been more careful about kissing Rose. Lily was a Beater on the Quidditch team, so had a really good arm for hitting. 

"You fucking _bastard_!" she screeched shaking with rage. I resisted the urge to run out of the Common Room, my face burning red as everyone else turned to stare at us. "You utter _dick_! I should have believed those girls when they said you were a total fuckboy! Why don't you just do us all a favour and go back to snogging my cousin, seeing as it's clearly what you fucking want!"

I didn't respond; how was I supposed to? Did I take 'go back to snogging my cousin' as a command, or what? It was better to keep silent, and even if it wasn't, even a rock could see that it _was_ what I wanted. I felt a twinge of guilt as I saw hurt flash across Lily's face for a brief second before she rounded on Rose. 

"And _you_ ," she spat. "You're my cousin, Rose! We're fucking _family_! How could you even-?"

"Lily, look, I never meant to-" Rose started to explain, before she was cut off. 

"Oh no, of _course_ not," Lily spat, cruel sarcasm dripping off her voice like honey, only nowhere near as sweet. "I suppose you were just having a 'nice chat' together and then you _accidentally_ ended up almost kissing each other in a secluded corner at the back of your Common Room. Yes, I think that's _definitely_ what happened- no need for any lie detector tests, because who would ever suspect that the oh-so-wonderful _Rose Weasley_ isn't telling the truth?"

"Look, you can stop with all that shitty sarcasm," Rose said angrily. "It's not going to help anyone if we all get even more pissed off than we already are. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know that-"

"Scorpius and I were dating?" Lily looked at her in disbelief, but anger still etched all over her face. "What planet have you been living on, Rose? Pluto or something?"

"I'm not in Slytherin like you two! How am I supposed to know what's going on?" Rose demanded. "It's not like you're even that public about it!"

"Hmm, let's see..." Lily grabbed a glass of Firewhiskey from a table nearby and gulped it down in one go. "Don't interrupt me," she said as both Rose and I opened our mouths to protest- she was 15, for fuck's sake! There was a thing called _underage drinking_!

"One. You could actually pay attention to the world around you for once." Lily held up her index finger. "Two. You could stop revising for your fucking NEWTs for one second- it's not going to kill you"- She raised another finer. "Three." She held up the third finger. "Try this thing called _fucking pissing off_ now while I haven't killed you yet."

Rose looked furious at Lily, but her big doe eyes betrayed the hurt she was feeling. "Fine then," she said, before turning to me. 

"This isn't on, Malfoy," she said to me with clear disdain. "You can't lie to me and say you aren't dating anyone and cheat on your cousin. You can shove off back to your Slytherin dungeon where you belong- because your chances of going out with me now are about as likely as Merlin resurrecting."

"Rose, no-" I tried to stop her as she pushed me away and ran out of the Common Room, only to be stopped by Lily, who was now looking slightly regretful at having upset one of her closest cousins, especially since what Rose said to me had made it evident she really had no clue I was dating Lily. 

"You stay the _fuck_ away from my cousin, you wanker," she hissed, grabbing another Firewhiskey. She glared at me as I pulled out my wand and quickly Vanished the glass, saying, "You're a right _prick_ , you know that?"

I sighed, realising she was referring to what had happened with her cousin and not the fact that I had just got rid of her beverage. "Yeah, I know. I cheated on you when you trusted me, almost kissed your cousin etcetera, etcetera. I'm sorry, okay?"

" _Oh_ , but are you?" Lily challenged, with a raise of of her eyebrow. 

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" I asked without a moment of hesitation. I wasn't really. Snogging Rose been my intention in the first place, what I've wanted to do since forever. As in, even before I started dating Lily. 

And all those countless other girls...

I think I should probably explain now. 

I've had a crush on Rose since first year. At first, I just admired her from a distance and was satisfied with just that. But soon after third year, a lot of people started dating, and I felt like I should as well. I asked Rose out multiple times but she said no every time I did. And that's when I started dating all the other girls who, I suppose, were just tools in my plan to win Rose over. It was like a cycle I had going on- I would ask out a girl and hope I could make Rose jealous, we'd date for a while, Rose would be jealous, I'd get my hopes up and ask her out, she would say no and my actual girlfriend would find out, get mad and break up with me. I'd find another girl to date and the process would repeat. 

The thing was that I was sure Rose _did_ have feelings for me...they were just buried deeper down where she hadn't discovered them yet. Every time I got a new girlfriend, her mood turned black and she would snap at anyone who talked to her, so I would take another chance. But when it came to actually confronting her face to face, she would withdraw and act cold and distant, leaving me lost for words. Every time I tried asking her out the result would be the same. 

As time passed, my list of ex-girlfriends grew longer and longer, and I grew notorious because of it. If the name Malfoy hadn't already made me well known at Hogwarts, I was now. I was known to every girl at school as 'that boy who just uses his girlfriends to make Weasley jealous'. They were rumours, of course; I appeared as the perfect student on the outside- a kind, helpful prefect, Quidditch player for his house, top marks in everything. But the girls at Hogwarts believed any gossip that reached their ears. They'd try to avoid dating me, and if I didn't have my eye on them, they'd succeed. If I did, though...excessive flirting and charm would always persuade them to accompany me to a broom cupboard. By charm, I mean lying through my teeth and flattering them with lines like "You're the only one I've ever cared for." Downright lies, given my persistence to chase after Rose. 

But the girls I chose as my girlfriends weren't just random students who happened to be slightly good looking. Each and every one of them had a quality which reminded me of Rose. It was a reason I could tolerate them whenever we started snogging, dulling the pain that it wasn't the girl I truly wanted. It made it much easier to pretend it was Rose Weasley I was kissing. I was traitorous and a backstabbing cheater for doing it, but once I started, I couldn't really stop. One could compare it to the effects of those white stick things Muggles puff on. They create smoke everywhere, and is apparently just awful for the environment and everyone in general. Mum had told me that once you start on them, you're hooked. And in my case, after a while I didn't even feel bad anymore. I knew I should but I just didn't- so I pursued girl after girl in the hope of making Rose jealous and finally admitting her feelings for me, each girl I found sharing a quality with the one person who I really wanted. 

Violet Finnigan had her warm brown eyes which sparkled when she laughed. Daisy Clearwater had her intelligent brains and witty remarks. Poppy Macmillan had her reddish brown curls which she always scraped back into a ponytail. There was even a tulip. Tulip Davies had Rose's porcelain skin, her face dotted with a few freckles just like her. Those were just a few of the many girls I had dated, the one thing they all had in common being their flower names. 

And Lily Potter...she was the most similar to her, not surprising considering they were cousins. Both had a flaming temper, a fierce loyalty to those close to them, talent on the Quidditch pitch, a constant war with the unwanted fame which surrounded them because of their parents. But Rose was Rose- no one was exactly like her. While they shared similarities, Lily and Rose also had their differences. Rose was friendly and instantly accepted anyone she knew in the slightest (with the exception of myself), Lily was cold to strangers, only trusting those she knew well (again with the exception of myself. I was fairly confident that she trusted me, but despite the rumours which flew around the school, she was far from close to knowing me. Everyone was.) Rose worked hard and was a diligent student, Lily never studied for tests and always did her homework the day it was due. 

So despite the fact that Lily had many similar traits to Rose, they weren't the same. I was never completely satisfied when I was dating her, just like I had never been satisfied when I was dating all the other girls. 

"You know, I never believed those girls who told me to never date you," Lily said, frustratedly running a hand through her carrot hair. "I heard all the rumours but I didn't think it was true. They told me you were a liar, a cheater and that you didn't ever care for them. They said all you wanted was my cousin, and that they were just manipulated by you in your plans to get her."

I stared at her with a shame-faced mask, waiting to see if she has any more to say. 

Lily narrowed her eyes at me. "I didn't believe them then but I do now- I've just experienced it firsthand, after all. But tell me, how much do I matter to you? Nothing?"

I blinked in surprise; no one had ever asked me that in all the confrontations I had faced in the past. It had always just been 'How could you?' and 'Did you like Rose all along?' Never deep questions about whether I actually cared for the girls I was essentially _using_ so I was slightly unsure how to answer. 

"Not nothing," I said carefully, completely aware that Lily was inconveniently perceptive. "I liked you...just- I liked Rose more."

It was a lie. A painfully obvious lie, as transparent as a bride's delicate white veil. I had never 'liked' Lily and I most likely never would. At best, I saw her as a friend who I was fond of, at worst, she could have been a tree for all I cared about her. There was never anything more. My eyes were always on Rose and Rose alone. 

The lie had just slipped off my tongue; I suppose it becomes a habit after a while. 

Lily's face was blank and incomprehensible for a moment, before she shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "You've only ever liked Rose, haven't you? It's what all your exes said."

I sighed in half fake defeat. She had missed the part about me not giving a single shit about the girls I had dated, but other than that it was correct. I decided to pretend she was right for the sake of simplicity. 

"It's what the whole school says," I said. "But why do you care so much? Did you actually have feelings for me?" I could almost guarantee the answer would be yes. Shrewdness practically ran through my blood, after all. 

Her face hardened at my question, and I saw her clenching her jaw. 

"I did," she replied, unsurprisingly. "Well, I still do, actually. But it's getting harder and harder for me because, you know what I'm starting to realise? I'm starting to realise that the boy I fell for doesn't exist. He was kind, funny, gentle, and _honest_. You're none of those things- people think you are but you're not. That perfect mask you wear that you use to charm anyone you want? It hides your real self and your real self is cold, selfish, cruel, and too ignorant to even think that other people have feelings. Why would I have feelings for someone like that? Have you ever even bothered to think about the emotional damage you have on those girls by stringing them along?" It was a rhetorical question, a question I wasn't supposed to answer. 

But the truth was yes, I had thought about it; I just didn't really care. I tried to but that just made me irritable, so I stopped. The way I've taught myself to see it is that they could resist me if they really tried- it wasn't as if they had no gossip and rumours to warn them, but were too weak to do so. And what was life if you never experienced pain and heartbreak? It was inevitable. I was simply preparing the girls by giving them a taste for the real life. If I was really pushing it, I could even say I was helping them by strengthening them. 

"Look Lily," I began, running my fingers throw my hair. I was almost immediately cut off by the redhead throwing a glare at me which, if looks were deadly weapons, would have had her thrown in Azkaban. 

"You will _not_ call me Lily, _Malfoy_ ," she spat venomously. 

"Whatever," I said, unfazed nevertheless. "Potter." I had wanted to apologise to her before but now I decided not to. I don't think it would have been very important if it hadn't been truthful. And come to think of it, _I_ didn't owe her an apology anyway, what with all the harsh words she had been spitting in my face for the past ten minutes. 

Nobody said anything. Li- no, _Potter_ and I simply stood glaring at each other, totally oblivious to the wild party that was going on. My fingers ached to reach for a Firewhiskey on the drinks table nearby but Potter probably wouldn't appreciate that. More than that, I didn't fancy getting a splitting headache in the morning- I never seemed to be able to stop drinking the Firewhiskey once I had started. 

I was the first to crack and break away from the intense glare battle we had apparently started. Throwing my hands up in defeat, I said, "If you want to break up with me, you might as well do it now and-"

"And let you run after another unsuspecting girl? How about fucking _no_." At my confused expression, Lily gave me a falsely sweet smile. 

"Wait, so...you're not going to break up with me?" I was bewildered, my brain trying to process why she had said at a rapid pace. 

She was going to continue dating me, just so that I wouldn't, to put it into her own words, 'run after another unsuspecting girl'? And inevitably hurt them like I had hurt her? All to make Rose Weasley jealous?

Because that had been my exact plan. Yes, Lily was a bit different from all my previous girlfriends, but in p end, she still meant next to nothing to me and I would I no way stop my...routine is another word for it- and continue pursuing her cousin just because she had a sharper mind and uncovered a little more about me through asking unexpected questions. Find another girl and continue my cycle of dating and eventual cheating. It's what I had _wanted_ to do, what I was used to doing. I had my eyes set on Rose and I would get her. Determination was a strong trait in Slytherins. 

"I'm not going to let you lure another girl into your little trap, it's not right," the redhead said firmly. 

Unfortunately, Lily was also a determined Slytherin and was no willing to let me go so easily. She wanted us to stay boyfriend and girlfriend so she could, essentially, protect other unsuspecting girls from _me,_ because she knew I would hurt them if I hooked up with them. It was all rather selfless of her really. 

I glared at her, confusion having been quickly replaced by annoyance. "I can do what I want. It's easy for me to dump you if I have to." 

Long term relationships just didn't work for me- unless it was with Rose. And I wasn't going to let Lily disrupt the ongoing dating cycle I had. She could try all she want to keep me away from the rest of the female population of Hogwarts but in the end, I would just dump her and run after another girl. I would keep ondoing so until Rose accepted me. 

Lily gave a yawn, glancing at the raging party which was still going strong around us. "And it's easy for me to tell _Witch Weekly_ that I, the daughter of the Saviour of the Wizarding World, have been dumped by _you_ , the son of a Death Eater," she threatened with a smirk. "They don't even know we were in a relationship, I wonder how they'll take the news?"

She had me there and we both knew it. _Witch Weekly_ was known for all the gossip it spread- and also for being extremely inaccurate. The story would end up being I had tried to rape Lily, or something ridiculous along the lines of that and I knew for a fact Mum read the magazine every week without fail; if she found out I was playing around with a million girls, I was as good as dead. 

"So what do you want me to do, then?" I snapped, pissed off at the fact that I was being blackmailed. By Lily Luna Potter. "Neither of us will be happy with each other-"

"I'm offended by that, we're supposed to be lovers," she interjected with mock hurt on her face disguising the teasing tone in her voice. 

"-and you've ruled out me hooking up with another girl," I continued, ignoring her comment. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Your third option would be to just talk to Rose," Lily said, suddenly serious. "All this messing about, it's just because you want Rose, right? So talk to her, apologise for lying earlier on. Anything to get on better terms. Cut out the make-her-jealous crap, it's not doing anyone any good."

I didn't know how, though. I was too used to what I had been doing. I told myself making Rose jealous would make it quicker for her to agree to go out with me. I thought it would persuade her sooner. And in a way, I liked my method. Stringing those other girls along made me feel in control, in power, and it was a nice feeling. It was satisfying. Upsetting all my exes wasn't even a big issue for me, because like I mentioned, I honestly just didn't care about them. 

Sometimes, I wondered what it would be like if everyone knew what I was really like. It would be...interesting. 

"I know it's hard for a heartless dick like you but just try," Lily said. 

Maybe talking to Rose straight out would be better. It would definitely save a lot of time. 

But what if she said no? No, rephrase that. She _will_ say no. It was her response every single time before. 

"Malfoy, you are such an arse!" Lily shrieked suddenly. "Has it never occurred to you that Rose keeps rejecting you because you have zero respect for other people's feelings? Or that she might like you if you simply became friends with her? Or thousands of other things that-?"

"Alright! I'll talk to her, happy?" 

There was the probability that I wouldn't; I'd mainly agreed to shut her up. But I suppose it would still be worth a try. 

Lily smiled at me. "Good. Don't bail out. Rose usually goes to the library when she's upset, so I'm going to come there with you to make sure you don't run away to a broom cupboard with some other girl."

Since when was my mind so transparent Lily could practically see into it? I never confided in her, until now when I did a bit. I'm not brave, or noble or anything; I couldn't just talk to Rose after she ran away from me. I know it's a good idea but I couldn't work up the courage. 

And now Lily was making sure I wouldn't run away like a coward so I didn't even have a choice. 

Fucking shit. 

"Come on." She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the Gryffindor Common Room. 

I could feel my stomach twisting itself into a tight knot as Lily lead me into the library and towards a desk where a head with red curls could just be seen behind a thick book which was, unless I had read the cover wrong, about the history of house elves. 

Lily cleared her throat awkwardly, me hovering behind where she stood at the table even though I wasn't the only one who needed to apologise. "Um...Rose?" 

"What do you want," Rose said without looking up from her book. Her tone was flat, almost as if she was bored, but I could see by her white knuckles that she felt otherwise. 

Lily sighed, then walked around the table and whispered something in Rose's ear, to which she responded with, "I don't care, you could have believed me before." I was pretty certain Lily had tried to apologise to her for her previous irrational behaviour in the Common Room. 

Lily whispered in her cousin's ear again, this time for longer, evidently having a lot more to say. I stood a little distance away from the two, watching uncomfortably as the frown on Rose's face disappeared and her expression softened. 

"Scorpius has something to say to you too," Lily announced, she and Rose apparently having reached an understanding. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. 

Oh shit. What the hell was I supposed to say to her? 'Hi'? 'I apologise for almost making out with you while I was dating your cousin'?

Lily must have spotted the panicked look on my face because she mouthed, "Apologise, you idiot! For anything!" at me. 

"I- I'm sorry!" I spluttered, seeing Rose about to pick up her book again. The words felt odd and foreign on my tongue; saying sorry wasn't really a thing I- or Lily, in this case- often forced myself to do. 

"For what?" Rose asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Um...I don't know," I mumbled. I tried thinking back to everything I had done. 

Cheating on countless girlfriends, lots of whom were probably friends with the daughter of two members of the Golden Trio. Always asking her out, probably pissing her off all the time, almost kissing her without telling her I was already dating her cousin. 

A lot of things. 

Maybe Lily was right to call me an arse. 

"I just...sorry for everything," I said. And this time, I might have actually meant it just a bit. 

***

** 5 years later **

**Rose's POV**

I lie on the soft grass, my fingers entwined with his. White shapeless puffs of cloud float in the pretty blue sky, the bright sun not quite shining on our faces from where we're hiding in the shade under a big oak tree in the park. It feels odd to know that he probably did this with Jasmine or Daisy or another one of his previous girlfriends. Maybe even with Lily. 

Maybe they lay together just like we're doing now, holding hands, while he told her how much he cared for her, even though he didn't at all. I get a cold shiver up my spine as I think about it, but I quickly shake it off. It's been a long time now, and I know he's changed, finally becoming the brave and loyal person he pretended to be for most of our time at Hogwarts. It doesn't matter anymore that he cheated on all those other people, because I know he would never do it to me. Well, not that I'm saying it doesn't matter, of course. Regret was a new thing he'd experienced after I asked him to apologise. 

But I know that he really does care about me, you so I've stopped worrying about it. I don't think he would ever leave me for someone else...perhaps he even loves me. I'm almost certain I do. 

I laugh as he says beside me, "You know, if you think about it, I really was quite a dickhead at Hogwarts." 

There's no tension in his voice as he says it; his past has stopped bothering both of us by now. Back when we first started dating, I was unsure of our relationship and afraid he would cheat on me- I could barely see him talking to another girl without shouting. We had frequent arguments because of it, and sometimes he would admit to having wanted a hookup- old habits were hard to get rid of, after all- but most of the time, it was just me being untrusting. 

It's not like that anymore, of course. We've both forgiven each other and that's what makes our relationship so strong and unbreakable. 

"You were quite an arsehole," I agree with a smile. My bushy hair is fanned out all around me, and I absent-mindedly plait a small strand as Scorpius traces little circles on my leg with his finger. 

"Yeah." I laugh at his flush and press a kiss on his cheek before picking up my half finished plait and continue braiding it. 

"You know, I saw you talking to Iris Truman at the Ministry yesterday," I joke, "and I think you two looked quite-"

"Oh shut up, you know it was nothing." Scorpius says, turning to stare at something in a tree. I follow his gaze to two birds sitting in a little nest perched on near the top branches. I sit up and am just able to see a tiny white egg sitting between them. 

I feel Scorpius' arm slide around my waist as he sits up too, and I relax into him. I know what he's thinking of as he looks at the two birds, who they remind him of. The only thing that's missing is the egg. 

Almost as if he's reading my mind, he says, "Maybe one day, we will. We still have plenty of time."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: New one shot! I've spent forever on this fic, and the ending felt a bit abrupt, but I hope it's not too bad. Reviews are always welcome :)


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